BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair has been awarded $49 million to repair and upgrade the guided-missile destroyer Russell, a contract that will help stabilize the workforce at the city's second-largest shipyard.

The 20-year-old Russell was moved from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to San Diego earlier this year as part of a plan by the Navy to shift some of its older ships to the West Coast, where they can undergo extensive upgrades. The strategy involved moving the destroyer Halsey from San Diego to Hawaii, where the Navy is placing newer vessels to ensure that it can quickly and effectively respond to threats in the Middle East and Asia.

BAE Systems has about 1,316 employees and 250 contractors. In February, the company warned its workers that they were at risk of being laid off because Congress had not approved a budget that would cover the cost of a lot of military ship repair in San Diego. The company is likely to layoff 60 or so workers. But the budget problem has since eased a bit, reducing the chance or widescale layoffs.

BAE is currently doing repairs and upgrades on the cruiser Bunker Hill and the destroyer Milius. Nearby General-Dynamics-NASSCO is overhauling the amphibious assault ship Essex, and Continental Maritime is doing work on the amphibious warship Comstock.